Bicentennial Man

Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: December 17, 1999

7.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 156 Ratings

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FilmQueenOct 29, 2015

This film is not bad, but I found it too sentimental sometimes. Also it doesn't make any sense why Andrew, the robot is different from other robots and why he feels. Spielberg's "A.I.-Artificial Intelligence" is based on a similar idea but isThis film is not bad, but I found it too sentimental sometimes. Also it doesn't make any sense why Andrew, the robot is different from other robots and why he feels. Spielberg's "A.I.-Artificial Intelligence" is based on a similar idea but is much better done and makes much more sense.… Expand

2 of 6 users found this helpful24

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RachelMAug 22, 2005

This story approaches classic Sci-Fi ones, introducing the topic "how things would be when...", or better, "how men would be when...", reflecting on vital topics, etc. Asimov's story is great in this sense, but Buena Vista adaptation is This story approaches classic Sci-Fi ones, introducing the topic "how things would be when...", or better, "how men would be when...", reflecting on vital topics, etc. Asimov's story is great in this sense, but Buena Vista adaptation is focused on commercial success and some special effects. And the result is POOR! The worst in this movie is its construction: time seems to fly, leaving no time for emotion or reflectio. Of course, anything performed by R.Williams is great, but I'm afraid he is too human to perform a robot! I didn't like it.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful

AlienSpaceBatsMay 25, 2013

Overlong, sentimental (or perhaps maudlin), and lacking clarity. I remember the original story well, though have not read the novel it was adapted into (The Positronic Man). Regardless, I recognized and enjoyed very little.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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StevenFJun 18, 2013

Robin Williams begins the film of Bicentennial Man in a mechanical suit, he is a robot, or 'household appliance' who is found to have feelings and reactions similar to human beings. Unfortunately he doesn't stay in the suit for the entireRobin Williams begins the film of Bicentennial Man in a mechanical suit, he is a robot, or 'household appliance' who is found to have feelings and reactions similar to human beings. Unfortunately he doesn't stay in the suit for the entire film, not to take away anything from the remarkable talent and personal admiration of Williams, but a lacklustre and bland second half will have you counting the minutes until the end. A running start, but an egg and spoon finish.
The script is filled with emotional appearance from start to finish, but its time frame fast forwards so unpredictably that it can be difficult to feel any sort of attachment to anyone but Andrew, the robot purchased by Richard Martin, or 'Sir', (played by Sam Neill) who quickly realises that his robot may do more than the standard model.
Andrew begins to immediately bond with the his masters children, and as the years go on and Andrew's talent for carpentry and other things have made him quite a rich man.
But the more he understands humans and the more he reads, he knows the demeanour of freedom, and wants to become his own man.
Where the film starts to lose its feet is when it starts fast-forwarding, because for a film spanning 200 years it moves at quite a fast pace. Andrew deals with death, others growing up around him and is unable to convey emotions to these changes, but the film is perhaps to polite for its own good in these situations, with a calm and mellow score throughout the film, there is no sense of despair or sadness, but always a sense of epic romanticism and heightening shows of this is how the world should be, but it isn't.
Robin Williams and Embeth Davidtz are the leading people in the film, Davidtz playing two people in terms of generation. Williams, while in the suit and a few times outside of it, is an ideal and welcome choice for the role, but he seems to be held back quite often and although he is playing a robot, the lack of emotional depth can be blamed on a script which never digresses or takes a new path, it perhaps should have listened to its own words,"sometimes it's important to do the wrong thing".
There are laughs to be had and some of the script is quite funny, particularly the earlier parts of Andrew getting to know the ways of human behaviour,but a slow and messy second half have held the film back from being as good as the opening 45 minutes suggested, but there are definitely lessons to be learnt and teachings to follow from this very quotable film, which explains human behaviour at its very core.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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JamesHNov 14, 2009

I am not quite sure why this film was so often disliked by the critics. It is a bit overlong, and it does have some slow stretches, but otherwise I thought is was warm and wonderful. Good score, imaginative, and Robin Williams is great.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Fixer84Mar 31, 2023

I didn't quite understand what the film wants to tell and, at the same time, what it wants to be. Basically, a bad movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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